GDC: Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 goes on show News

Tecmo handed out copies of Official PlayStation Magazine US at the event, which has a big article about the game.

The mag has a quote from Hayachi saying, "Violence is not going to be one of the key selling points of this title... It's not all about how bloody it is." Instead they're going for "a much cooler, cleaner, sleeker look". So you won't see great big spurts of blood, but clouds of purple essence when enemies get dismembered.

Hmmm... so co-op isn't in story mode and most likely mission mode style. The blood and severed limbs were most satisfying in NG2 for the 360. I loved how the blood was spattered on the walls and the enemies still laying dead scattered around. Too bad they won't leave that intact.

it doesnt have to be the KEY selling point but why are we strayin away from gore? Hes a ninja wit a sword.....someones gonna lose sumthing, so lets send these fiends back to the Vigoor Empire wit missing limbs to make sure they dont come back

Haha actually I was kind of fond of the violence in NG2. Just because it was so over the top it was hard not to laugh as guys got cleaved into 3-4 parts. I'm not complaining, just showing the different styles between the 2 games.

What the hell, no gore and violence!? It's all toned down/censored!? WHY!?!? It's one of the most awesome parts of the game. It's a NINJA-game where you go around hacking people up with your sword or whatever other weapon you want to use. It gets it's inspiration from samurai/ninja movies which have those great bursts of gore and blood.

I feel this is a big mistake, and absolutely unnecessary and unwanted. I think this is just absolutely ridiculous, cause the blood and severed limbs and the gore etc etc ADDS to the experience you get when playing the game. It's COOL to see your ninja lob off someone's head, and seeing a gorgeous red fountain of blood spray down while you're already slashing through some other villains. It's how it should be.

If Hayachi has a problem with violence in videogames, he shouldn't have accepted to do this game. Now he treads on someone else's work and nutures it...

The trailer looks absolutely GREAT, and I love Ninja Gaiden gameplay, but this decision is just BS. Sadly. I was very excited about this game and 1 day later they've managed to diminish that excited and replace it with disappointment and anger. Such a shame.

"Now we'll never know if that was what made the 360 version take a performance hit or if the 360 is simply inferior, as far as running the Ninja Gaiden engine goes."

Really? That's the first thing you thought of when you heard the Sigma 2 announcement? Are you looking forward to actually playing the game, or just strapping on your microscope and watching the inevitable comparison vids? Sheesh.

I see what they are saying. There is blood, but instead of blood spraying out when dismembered there will be this...fog, or purple mist that flows out somewhat like a smokey mist...hmm hard to explain but...imagine how fluid it would look...oh man...sorry about these broken sentences but I can see what they are aiming at in my head. They are pulling off this sleek stylish look, that includes blood but the mist is like this added effect that makes the battle look even more stylish..man how can I explain this better..??? I dont know but I hope you got an idea of what I was trying to explain.

Edit: check thenew screenshots you can see the mist and some blood insome of the shots.

That's crazy. Imagine if Mortal Kombat took out all the bloody finishers, and just did away with all the violence and simply sold out to try and cater to a younger audience. That would be pretty idiotic.

"That's crazy. Imagine if Mortal Kombat took out all the bloody finishers, and just did away with all the violence and simply sold out to try and cater to a younger audience. That would be pretty idiotic."

That already happened, its called MK vs. DCU.

Why are some game developers going soft these days? Terrible decision to take out the blood, theres enough T rated games on the market already. Makes me nostalgic for the days when a game like Soldier of Fortune sold BECAUSE of the gore.

Even still, why tone it down? Are they afraid it's not going to sell unless they lower the M rating to T?

A series known for performing brutal finishers in rapid succession and containing gratuitous amounts of gore should not be toning the blood level down. That goes against everything the series has created thus far.

Now heres where I think people get a little retarded. In this second picture you can clearly see...what..omg.. no wayyy its blood. wha?? where did that come from? sad people.. jumping to conclusions, saying the game will be rated teen, just sad. BLOOD AND THE PURPLE ESSENCE WILL BOTH BE THERE, ALONG WITH DISMEMBERMENT. and whats all this a part of??? The ART DIRECTION THAT THEY TOOK WITH THIS GAME. If you fail to recognize this, and the fact that they went with a more stylish way of showing off a beautiful style of fighting with beautiful effects, then you are just sad.

Edit: @Tretton, I got a little carried away there... But man I've tried explaining this so many times on this vere page of comments and its like noone is getting it.

"If it's good though, not having blood isn't a reason to not buy it either."

Excellent point. Thanks for being sane.

@13.1 "I am surely not playing a Ninja Gaiden game for its cheesy dialog and storyline"

And neither am I. I'm playing Ninja Gaiden because the depth of combat makes all other action games look like butthole. Crappy storytelling? Check. Corny costumes? Check. Over the top enemies? Check. Best freaking combat engine in the world? We have a winner.

@13.2 I'm with you, dude. Basically they're admitting that the fountains of blood in NGII were too garish, and with NGSII they're hoping that less will be more. I would've bought the game anyway (love Sigma), but the fact that they're being so thoughtful with the "port" is just icing on the cake for me.

They should have at least left the option to turn it on. But then again, maybe they want a T-rating? If it sells better that would be a great re-start for Team Ninja. Or perhaps with enough feedback it'll come back. Who knows, maybe it'll look better with "purple essence".

Still, is it that important? I thought you Xbox guys were all about "teh fun" and "teh gaming/playing/buying games" and not violence whores? After all, didn't you guys buy into gears of war due to the gameplay? Oh wait...

but less blood .. it's not like there aren't going to have blood in this game ..it's just that it's not going to be over the top...not everyone enjoyed to get soo much blood ..god of war is violent quite violent at time but doesn't abuse the blood fonction ...